Bento-ware

I'm certainly not leading the way in living an eco-friendly lifestyle, or in preparing my family healthy, organic meals. But something I AM good at is taking baby steps. My kids prefer crackers and cookies over carrots and tofu (and I kind of prefer them myself). But for every fruit loop Anna eats, she balances it with a broccoli floret. We're getting there!

I recently found Bentobloggy (thanks Heather!), and am totally inspired to get creative with my kids' meals. I love how her presentation makes asparagus look downright tempting. And check out her collection of picks - forks are for suckers! Holly would go to town with this stuff. I just need the willpower to serve them with cheese and spinach ravioli instead of chicken nuggets...

And for an adult meal (yes, I still make 2, sometimes 3 meals for dinner...baby steps...) I will definitely be trying this Stuffed Chicken Valentino.

One of my favorite things about serving food bento-style is that it encourages sustainability. We're trying to create less waste and use fewer disposable items, and this offers some kid-friendly ideas. Holly uses the Laptop Lunchbox for school, which helps me make her well-rounded meals while eliminating the need for a ton of Ziploc bags and individually wrapped items.

My other favorite thing - it's really, really cute.